Explanations
by NoxWillow
Summary: Harry's returned after leaving without explanation for three years. For a certain redhead, unexplained absences don't get to go unexcused. Could a broken relationship be fixed after the damage of three years, or are things too late to be mended?
1. Never Forgetting

**Harry's returned after leaving without explanation for three years. To everyone else, his arrival back home couldn't be better. Unfortunately for a certain redhead, unexplained absences don't get to go unexcused. Could a broken relationship be fixed after the damage of three years or are things to late to mend?**

**Disclaimer: All things belong to the talented J.K. Rowling. **

**As starting a new story is always exciting, I thought I would take a crack at my favorite pair in the HP fandom next to James and Lily. Enjoy and review!**

Ginny stared at the yard behind the Burrow with a feeling of nostalgia. Memories of summer days spent playing for hours in backyard filled her mind. Her brothers' images formed clearly in her head; Bill playing catch with her; Charlie and Percy debating the importance of an education; the twins hiding behind anything in an attempt to scare their mother while she was gardening; Ron taunting her with her favorite stuffed animal, holding it just high enough over her head to make her scream for it. And then he was there too. Harry. Harry, playing quidditch with her brothers and her in the evening sun; Harry and Ron de-gnoming the garden; Harry eating dinner with the entire family to celebrate the last of summer before school began. No, that wouldn't do.

It had been three years since he had left. Three years to cloud over all memories of him in an attempt to shut him out. Three years to get over him. She had managed to do so for the most part. But things like this easily brought him back to her. It wasn't fair, she thought, that he could just easily disappear into his work as an auror, leaving everyone behind. They said he was working in South Africa in an intense case, but the Ministry never gave the Weasley's anymore information than that. It was frustrating to think that after everything that had happened, he would just get up and leave two weeks after the final battle. Everyone said that he deserved his space and Ginny couldn't argue with that. It made sense that after saving the world, he deserved some slack, but she couldn't get rid of the feeling that he had cheater her of something. Some kind of truth. A truth to why he would just abandon her. An explanation.

Ginny pulled herself out of her thoughts. He didn't owe anyone an explanation. He saved the world. What else did he owe them? But that wasn't enough for Ginny. She wanted to know why even though she shouldn't have. She wanted to know why he'd leave her. _Oh that's great, just really fantastic. I can't even think about him without becoming upset. The infamous Potter strikes again. Potter: 256, my heart: 0_. Potter could just stay in Africa for all she cared. He certainly wasn't doing her any favours.

Ginny collected herself before returning to the Burrow. Best not to let the family get suspicious of where her thoughts had drifted to. Harry was a bit of a touchy subject in the Weasley family. Of course everyone still adored him but Ginny wasn't the only one who felt abandoned by him.

The smell of food hung deliciously in the air as Ginny pushed the door open into the kitchen. "Ginny, set the table would you?" Mrs. Weasley asked while cooking laboriously over the stove. "Ron and Hermione are coming for dinner." Right, the wonderfully, cheerful, new couple who when they weren't bickering, could be caught snogging each other in any place suitable. At least they were entertaining when they argued. Ron would usually say something stupid, followed by Hermione cutting in with a long, intelligent ramble which would shut him right up. Ginny was pretty sure that he had yet to win an argument.

"Of course," Ginny replied already with a hand full of dishes.

"And please be sure to come to the dinner on Saturday. It's George's and Angela's wedding rehearsal. It would break that poor boys heart if his sister was to miss out on it," her mom added with her motherly tone. Ginny smiled. The boy had finally gotten the courage to pop the question to his girlfirend of two years. And with wedding bells in the air, Mrs. Weasley was wasting no time in preparations.

"Of course," Ginny repeated, rolling her eyes.

In half an hour's time, the house seemed to be full of people with rumbling bellies. Ron and Hermione seemed deep in one of their rows again. bickering over something trivial. George and Angelia had made an appearance and were deep in talk at the end of the table while Percy and Mr. Weasley sat discussing the properties of electricity. Nothing out of the norm. Mrs. Weasley hushed the table quickly when the food was brought out. Everyone took their share of mashed potatoes, corn, and chicken. Ron and George as usual took double the amount than normal standards. This seemed to start Hermione on the topic of boys and how they ate way too much. Ginny and Angela exchanged giggles over her rant, clearly entertained.

"So Ginny, how are things going with the Harpies?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Ginny had to swallow her mouth full of mashed potatoes before she could speak. "It's going great. We open up the new season next week against the Bats. Should be a good game, Gwenog has us working our butts off to prepare for it."

"That's fantastic. Look at my baby girl. Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies! And a damn good one too!" Mr. Weasley cried out, nearly knocking over his glass.

"Arthur! No swearing at the dinner table!" his wife scolded, shooting him a dirty glare from her plate.

"Right Dear. Won't happen again," he replied sheepishly. This earned him a course of giggles from around the table. "You'll be damn amazing though," he whispered to Ginny under his breath. This was returned with a huge smile and a quick thanks before Mrs. Weasley could become suspicious of their exchange.

Soon the meal was finished with no left-overs and the plates practically licked clean. Ginny helped with the dishes while exchanging light conversation with Hermione who had her hands deep in the sink. "Did you hear the big news?" Hermione asked while handing Ginny a plate to dry off.

"No. I have to admit, every since I was hired by the Harpies it's been hard to stay on top of gossip."

Hermione nodded in agreement while plunking a glass into the sink. "I'm surprised that you didn't hear this though, it's been all over the news."

Ginny leaned closer in anticipation. "Well if I wasn't listening before, I sure am now."

Hermione seemed to take a moment to gather herself before speaking. This wasn't a uaual occurance which meant bad news. Hermione never stalled. "You sure you haven't heard? It's been in all the newspapers lately."

More eager in the news than before, Ginny pressed her. "Go on."

"HarrysbackfromAfrica," she blurted out all in one word.

"I'm sorry," Ginny laughed lightly, "for a second there it sounded like you said 'Harry's back from Africa."

Hermione trained her eyes hard on the dishes. "That's correct," she mumbled.

Ginny began drying the plate in her hands more vigorously. "Why would he do that? Just come back as if nothing happened? He spent three years there. He dissolved any connections he had here when he left," Ginny tried to say lightly but failed miserably.

Hermione risked a look at Ginny from the sink. "He belongs here just as much as you and I do, Gin."

The plate began to crack under the pressure of Ginny's hands, which were still rubbing at it faithfully. "Oh, does he now?" Ginny swore her voice hit a new octave she thought not possible. "After he left without a word? Not even a goodbye? Does he truly just get to come back as if nothing's changed?" Yep, her voice definitely hit a new octave.

"He can do whatever he wants Ginny. He did save the world after all."

"Of course, right. He saved the world so he's pardoned from any behaviour afterwards. I almost forgot," she said tightly. Dropping the cracked plate back into the sink, Ginny closed her eyes for a second. A second to process everything. A second to acknowledge that the man who ripped her in two would be returning, and would probably be holding the other half of her heart. Hermione looked at her with a sadness that seemed to reflect that of her own.

"Ginny, I know you're still upset he left without explanation, but you have to understand where he's coming from. He had gone through a lot. He needed a break. And as his friends, we owe him that."

Ginny nodded, letting the words flow through her mind to ease the anger. "You're right Hermione. I let my anger get the best of me, and it wasn't fair to you or... him." She said the last word slowly as if not entirely sure he deserved her apology.

Hermione seeming content, began to attack the load of dishes again. "You're a smart girl Ginny. I knew you would see reason."

Ginny raged around her flat the next day, grabbing the table by the couch and shoving it against the wall. Her next victim was the plant by the door, which got relocated to the corner of the living room. Just as she was attempting to displace the couch, Elizabeth walked in.

"Something the matter?" her flatmate asked. Elizabeth was a pretty, average sized brunette witch with shorter hair. She graduated a year younger than Ginny from Hogwarts and had a cool calm to her that balanced out Ginny's sometimes rash behaviour.

Ginny stood up from the couch and huffed. "No. Why would you say that?"

Leaning again the wall, Elizabeth drew out her arms as if to indicate to the whole room. "Because, you only move the furniture around when you're upset. In fact, Instead of an angry-drunk, you're an angry-redecorator."

Ginny pressed to argue but stopped herself. There was a truth to what Elizabeth had said. Anger fueled now by the realization, Ginny picked up a pillow from the couch and threw it violently onto the chair adjacent to it. "And your point?"

"Well, I was hoping you were going to tell me what was wrong. It's such a pain to get you to speak when you're angry."

"What? No, that... that couldn't be... you know... further from the... the truth," Ginny stammered.

Elizabeth not taking any BS, asked again. "So what's wrong?"

Fluffing the pillow more delicately than her hastily moving of it, Ginny looked at Elizabeth sternly. "Listen, don't freak out, but Harry's coming back." Elizabeth raised an quick eyebrow.

"And why would I be freaking out?"

"Because... he left... and, and now... he's BACK!" Ginny yelled the last word out, quickly to cover her mouth in embarrassment.

Elizabeth nodded as if understanding something. "You're right Ginny, he's back. So what are you going to do about it?"

Ginny stalled for a second, caught off guard by the question. Slumping down into the couch, Ginny replied. "Nothing." And with more finality, she said it again. "Absolutely nothing."

Elizabeth sat down beside her. "And why nothing?"

"Because, I've nothing to say to him. And you think I would have, after all that he's done. I've imagined so many times what I would say to him if he returned. But now that I know he's coming back, I don't care anymore," Ginny replied suddenly drained. And she was right. She didn't want to do anything. She didn't want to care anymore. She may have owed him the right to leave, but she didn't have to be there when he returned. She had spent enough anger, misery and heart break over him, and now she owed him nothing. In truth, it felt good to finally relieve her of him. Ironically, it took him coming back for her to finally move on. "That's right. I'm going to do nothing."

Elizabeth seemed content with this answer and stood from the couch. "Well, if you're doing nothing, how about we at least make some dinner. I'm absolutely famished." Ginny nodded, marveled at how her flatmate could always spin the world to make more sense.

**Hopefully that quenched your thirst for an angsty beginning. But have no fear; there will be more humour and unsatisfied sexual tension to come. The point of the first chapter is to set things in motion, and we all needed to see how heartbroken of a state Mr. Potter truly left our Ginny in. But her strong character and hot temper always shine through the misery!**

**Read and review because that's the best thing for a writer. Criticism is welcomed too!**


	2. Counting Back From Ten

**Chapter two awaits!**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling and the universe she created**

Ginny looked at her reflection in the mirror, clearly none too pleased with what was looking back. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun with a couple strands left free to frame her face. She wore a pale yellow v-neck dress that seemed to bring a warmth to her pale completion. Moving closer to the mirror, Ginny grabbed a pin from the dresser and shoved it in her hair.

"You touch it anymore and you'll ruin it," Elizabeth said from the bed. The two had spent the last hour in Ginny's bedroom fussing over what to wear to the dinner rehearsal for George and Angela's wedding. Ginny was adding the finishing touches to her hair. Elizabeth had decided upon a light purple summer dress and was sitting with her legs crossed neatly in front of her. She was idly tapping a rhythm on the bedspread with her fingers while waiting for Ginny to finish up.

"I know. It just seems like it could use another pin," Ginny mumbled while strategically placing another to hold the bun in tighter. Seeming satisfied with her appearance, the redhead grabbed her purse from the dresser and turned to face Elizabeth. "Good?" she asked, spreading her arms and circling.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and hopped up from the bed. "If I say no, I'm afraid we'll be here till next week." Ginny smacked Elizabeth's arm lightly and turned to face the mirror again, ready to re-adjust anything out of place. "No, no, I was just kidding! You look bloody fine! Besides, it's a rehearsal dinner. Not like you're going to meet the man of your dreams there."

Seeming satisfied with Elizabeth's reaction, Ginny turned to lead the way out of the room. "Good, because the only men that are going to be there will be obnoxious close relatives and drunk dinner guests." Elizabeth seemed to lighten at the idea of getting drunk. "Not that we'll be drinking a lot, mind you. My mother would die before the day she saw me even tipsy," Ginny added quickly.

Elizabeth seemed none too shaken at the prospect of a sober night. "Oh well. I always did enjoy dancing with your Uncle Arnold. He's always full of ridiculous stories. Being drunk would ruin those stories."

Ginny laughed at her friend's odd sense of humour. "Well you can have him. He's always telling me how I need to 'find a man and marry him before he can escape'," Ginny said in her best impression of her Uncle.

"Right, 'because a good man is hard to find. And if you lose him as quickly and I lose my glasses, you'll be single forever!'" Elizabeth imitated back, shaking her finger aggressively at Ginny. "Forever!"

"And what a tragedy that would be," Ginny said in a mocking tone. "But enough sulking over how we'll be single and ready to mingle for forever more. A dinner rehearsal awaits us!"

"And what a dinner it will be!" Elizabeth said stepping out of the room past Ginny.

The evening was warm as the August sun hung low in the sky. The guests who had arrived had busied themselves by catching up with old friends and relatives while the dinner was being prepared. The garden had a warm glow to it. Lanterns had been strung up festively by golden and white ribbons encircling two long dinner tables outside. There must have been enough room for easily forty guests. As soon as Ginny and Elizabeth arrived, they were collected by Mrs. Weasley and put straight to work.

"Oh girls, the potatoes need peeling. And the garden by the dinner table is absolutely full of gnomes!" Mrs. Weasley said while hastily mixing a bowl of gravy. The three had moved into the kitchen where the aroma of food was so strong, Ginny could practically hear her stomach crying out for it. Reassuring her mother she had nothing to worry about, Ginny headed for the back door. "You peel and I de-gnome?" she asked Elizabeth.

"Already on it," her friend said pulling out her wand. "I read an article about this spell that can peel potatoes quickly and efficiently without massacring the vegetable."

"Right, you do that," Ginny replied halfway out the door. Making her way to the garden, Ginny could hear whispers throughout the guests who had arrived. The words 'Harry Potter' and 'coming back' could be heard disjointedly in conversations as Ginny made her way to the garden patch. _No, that part of your life is over. You've moved on _she told herself_._ And for the next twenty minutes, she did a good job convincing herself of that.

After finishing with the garden, Ginny pushed her way back through the growing crowd and into the house. "The garden is de-gnomed," she announced when entering the kitchen. Elizabeth was the first to meet her and put up her hands to stop her from moving anymore forward.

"That's fantastic Ginny! I think you're mum mentioned that she forgot to grab some extra chairs from the shed. Would you mind getting them?" Elizabeth asked quickly.

Ginny heard voices at the front of the house and tried to push past her, curious to see what the fuss was about. "I'm pretty sure George grabbed some extra ones just a while ago," she said while trying to look over Elizabeth's shoulder. "What's going on?"

Elizabeth blocked Ginny's way and spread her arms out in a wide fashion. "I think that we need to peel more potatoes. You can never have enough potatoes you know."

"Elizabeth, we have enough peeled potatoes to feed every extended relative of the family. What's going on?" Ginny said again more sternly, this time trying to skirt her way around the brunette.

"No, no, no. We should at least double check. The last thing your mother needs is a potatoe shortage." Elizabeth said tightly, trying to anticipate Ginny's movements so the redhead couldn't push past her.

"Elizabeth, if you don't move out of the way, I will be forced to shove you. And I don't really want to shove you, so move!" Ginny said a little louder.

Finally pushing past her friend with a little aggression, Ginny made her way to the front of the house where some kind of a commotion was going on. "Ginny, no! You're not ready to see him!" Elizabeth protested. Hardly hearing what Elizabeth had said and ignoring the hand that had reached to pull her back, Ginny rounded the corner to the front. A group of people by the door seemed deep in embrace, a light banter circling in the air. Ginny's mind went immediately to the one thing she thought she'd never have to deal with again. But no, it couldn't be.

Stopping short near the stairs, Ginny stood frozen in a moment of fear, disbelief, and above all, a feeling of being unprepared. Mrs. Weasley was the first among the group to notice her. Her face became quickly grave. "Ginny, Dear, I thought you were still in the garden?"

Finding her voice, she said with a croak, "no. I finished about five minutes ago. What's going on?" she asked. There was the smallest hope that her intuition had been wrong, that her new found feelings of panic were all for nothing. The small group of people seemed to notice her appearance and parted from the close embrace. Ron and Hermione stood in the center, covering someone. Hermione's face became panicked when her eyes fell on Ginny.

Ron was the first to break the silence that seemed to steal up out of nowhere. "Ginny! Harry's here!" And to prove his point as if she wouldn't believe him, he moved aside.

Her body became more rigid than before as she sucked in a breath of air. Her eyes found him fast and drank up his appearance greedily. He seemed taller, more muscle toned than she remembered. His hair was disheveled as always but his face seemed older, sharper. He still wore the trademark glasses but his body language spoke of maturity. His once boyish demeanor had gone, being replaced by someone who had experienced the hardships of the world. Their eyes connected and immediately his body tensed.

"Well," Ron said slapping his friend on the shoulder, "say something!" he laughed. He seemed oblivious to the tense moment building by the second. "Oh come on mate! You've only been back five minutes after being gone for three years and you've got nothing to say?" he laughed again, seeming pleased that his best friend had finally returned despite everything. The others seemed to judge the exchange between Harry and Ginny and backed off any attempt at a happy reunion. Clueing in on the situation, Ron dropped his hand from Harry's back and aborted his attempt at casualties. "Well, I'm glad you're here at least. It's been too bloody long." The others nodded in agreement, quick to drop the intense moment that had lasted too long. A light conversation began in the group as if the moment had never happened. Ginny's though kept her eyes trained hard on the man in front of her, as if she could make him feel every pain and heartache he had caused her in his absence. Harry opened and closed his mouth as if he were going to say something. An apology? An excuse? Maybe he would tell her how sorry he felt for leaving her, and that he wanted to make up for it. Maybe he would say that he hadn't been thinking straight at the time and wanted redemption for his mistake, for her to understand. Maybe he would give her an explanation.

Before anything else could be said or done, a hand yanked Ginny around, breaking the connection. Harry was the first to avert his eyes, his shoulders slouching a little when doing so.

"It was nice seeing you Harry, but Ginny and I have some potatoes that need peeling," Elizabeth said hastily. Ginny turned back to the man who was now trying to re-immerse himself into the conversation around him. So that was how it was going to be.

Pulling Ginny up the stairs and into her old bedroom, Elizabeth shut the door and grabbed Ginny roughly by the shoulders. "You need to breathe, Gin. You haven't taken a breath yet and you're turning blue." Ginny counted in her head backwards from ten slowly. It was a soothing trick her mother had told her to do when she was younger, in order to clam herself down. Each time she got a lower number, she sucked in a bit of air. "Good. Now you need to tell me what you're thinking. I can't help you unless you let me know what's going on inside your head."

Ginny regained a steady breath finally and relaxed her hands. They had been tightly squeezed into fists and the feeling of blood returning brought along with it the sensation of tingles. "He's here," she said slowly, testing the words out in her mouth. "He's here and I'm going to do nothing about it." That was it. The plan she had decided on earlier. She would do nothing, because she cared nothing for him. "I'm going to do nothing."

Elizabeth looked worriedly at her friend. "Come on Gin. I know you said that earlier but surely you're feeling something? Anger or even resentment?"

"No. Nothing," Ginny repeated even slower this time. Smoothing down her dress and taking in one more deep breath, Ginny said, "now if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner rehearsal to attend to." And with that she was out the door. Not looking back to see if Elizabeth was following, Ginny took the few private moments to reassure herself what she was going to do. _He's here, but that means nothing to me. I do not owe it to him to talk to him or to welcome him back. I will treat him as he is, and that is nothing to me._

**Well this chapter came out fast! Can't say that it will happen again. But it was delicious good fun to write. Hopefully that will set the mood for further encounters and keep you all tied until the next chapter! **

**Once again, read and review because that's what keeps writers going!**


	3. Vanished

**Disclaimer: Everything Potter is owned by the fantastic J.K. Rowling!**

Ginny sat herself at the far end of the second table, perfectly content to eat dinner next to her Uncle Arnold. He seemed to be the one person people avoided, which was fine with her. She needed to be far away from Harry who was sitting at the head of the first table with Ron and Hermione. It wasn't long before Uncle Arnold took off into a long rambling story, one she had heard a hundred times before. Propping her elbow on the table, Ginny settled herself in for another long story about the Troll war of 1986.

"And there I was, fast and furious as ever, storming down the battle field," Uncle Arnold said, swooping his hand in a motion to match his words. "And you woulda' never guessed what happened next!"

"A troll intersected your path and gave you a good hit on the head," Ginny finished for him.

Uncle Arnold's eyes lit up as he clapped his hands together. "Yes my dear, with his giant bat! How good of you to remember! I swear none of these buggars even hear a word I'm saying. History is of the upmost importance! We must learn from and never repeat our same mistakes twice!"

Ginny nodded her head in agreement. "I never doubted you for a second Uncle."

"Good," he said. "Now I believe my stomach is growling rather loudly. Do you know when dinner be served? I wouldn't be surprised if the Goblins in Gringotts could hear my stomach rumble. "

"Good question. I'll go check," Ginny said as she got up from the table. She quickly made her way into the kitchen, walking into an aroma of delicious smelling food.

Mrs. Weasley looked up from the stove to see who had entered her temple of cooking. "Ah, Ginny dear, dinner will be served shortly. I'm just finishing with the potatoes. Would you be so kind as to help me bring out the food?"

Ginny shrugged. "Sure. I think I've had enough Troll war stories to last me a life time."

"Good, good. You can start by bringing out the ham. And no magic dear! We wouldn't want a repeat of last time," she said referring to the incident where George dropped a bowl of hot gravy all over Mr. Weasley. It was his first and last attempt to use magic when serving the dinner table.

"Righty-o." Ginny grabbed a plate of honey glazed ham and propped the door open with her elbow leading to the garden. Mrs. Weasley followed behind, arms stuffed full with bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy. Soon the tables were full of food and the sound of happy eaters chewing away at the delicious meal. The plates of food seemed to be bombarded as soon as they were set on the tables. A chorus of complements filled the air as people shoved the cooking onto their plates. Satisfied with the complements, Mrs. Weasley sat down beside her husband ready to dig in herself. "Oh Ginny dear, I almost forgot the buns for this side of the table. Would you mind grabbing them for me?"

Ginny nodded, not before looking longingly at the table of appetizing food. Her own stomach growled in anticipation. In the kitchen, Ginny scanned the room for the bowl of bread, eager to get to her own plate quickly. It seemed quite the task too. The kitchen looked as if a small but mighty twister had carved a path through it. Dishes were everywhere, stacked with must have been magic. There was no possible way a tower of dishes that high hadn't already fallen over. In the sink, an enchanted brush scrubbed vigorously at a pot which must have been used for the gravy.

"This will be fun to clean later. And we haven't even gotten to dessert," she mumbled under her breath. Finally locating the bread basket, Ginny headed for the kitchen door. As soon as her hand reached out to grab the handle, the door came flying open, a tall figure smacking right into her.

The world seemed to go fuzzy as Ginny hit the floor, landing on her back. The lights in the room danced around her vision making peculiar designs. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't see you th-," the voice cut off as the figure seemed to register her face. Concentrating her eyes, a sharp jaw line came into focus, accompanied by bright green eyes framed by round glasses. Harry stood over her with a confused look on his face. No, not confused, conflicted. He seemed to be debating whether or not to help her up or to book it for the backyard.

"Its fine," Ginny mumbled turning away from him. She wasn't sure if she was disgusted by him, angry or hurt. Maybe all of the above. She grabbed the basket she had dropped and hastily gathered the buns on the floor, dropping them back into it. "It was an accident."

Seeming to think better of it, Harry outstretched his hand to help her up, searching for her eyes. But she wouldn't give him that. That was one of the many things he didn't deserve. Ignoring the hand, Ginny tried to push past him out the door. "Ginny, I'm sorry," he said more firmly.

Almost outside, Ginny repeated in an even quieter tone, "Like I said, it was an accident."

"Ginny," Harry said quickly, grabbing her arm. Her eyes furiously connected with his. She could feel her face burning with anger at his touch.

"Don't," she said spitting the word out under her breath.

Harry let go quickly, his eyes finding the floor. "Alright." There was defeat in his voice. _Good_, Ginny thought. He knew he didn't deserve her. Before anything else could be said, Ginny hurried out the door. But what else _could_ be said? Harry had told her everything she needed to know in those few short seconds. He was guilty, and he knew it. So she would hold him accountable.

Ginny shoved the basket of bread on the table next to her mother. "Thank you de- Ginny, what's wrong?" Mrs. Weasley asked suddenly concerned.

"Nothing. What do you mean?" Ginny asked quickly. Had she seen what happened between her and Harry?

"You have tears in your eyes," Mrs. Weasley said softly so as not to draw attention to them.

Ginny held a hand up to her face and wiped her check. Her fingers came away wet with a few fallen tears. She had started to cry and had not even noticed. "Excuse me," she said quickly and darted for the tall grass at the edge of the garden. Mrs. Weasley tried to protest but Ginny was already gone. She headed into the darkness and was quickly lost from any following eyes. She ran for a good five minutes in the grass until the chatter of the dinner tables could hardly be heard. Soon she came up to a large willow tree near a pond and sat down on the bank. Her vision had become blurred along the way, full of threatening tears from three years of anger and frustration.

But she would not let them fall. It was better this way. She couldn't let herself be weak, especially not because of him. He had been her downfall. And if she cried over him now, who's to say she wouldn't relapse later? She deserved to be strong. She had loved and lost and this was the final test of her strength. But something felt different now. She had been so frustrated and angry at him before this dinner, that thinking it through, she realized something. He knew that he had wronged her. She could see it in his face when he grabbed her arm in the kitchen. It was as if he had been trying to reach out to her, to apologize. How silly, that after all this time, he would suddenly come back feeling regretful for his actions. She had longed for his touch the past three years. Longed for his arms to wrap protectively around her. Longed for his comfort in the dead of the night. She had longed for him just to be near her. But in one touch, it had all vanished.

"It's over Potter," Ginny chocked out through the lump in her throat. "You always messed with me, even while you were gone for three years. You only think I would have learned to get over you sooner."

"I don't think so," a voice said coming from behind the tree. Elizabeth rounded the trunk and sat down beside Ginny. "He meant too much to you back then. And, if he had no effect on you now, I'd be worried."

Ginny looked at Elizabeth with concern. "And why would that be?"

Elizabeth knit her eyebrows together in thought. "Because I know what you're like."

"And what would that be?"

Elizabeth wrapped a reassuring arm around Ginny. "You're a fierce lover. As fierce as your hair colour. And you wouldn't give up on someone you loved that easily."

Ginny looked away from her friend and out over the pond. She let the words sink in. "Wouldn't that be a weakness? Shouldn't I know when to let go?"

Elizabeth gave a small laugh. "Of course not. That love that you have, it is so pure that it lasts no matter what trials it faces. Everyone should envy that. It's your best quality. You love so fiercely - you wouldn't let anyone get hurt that you hold dear. I think that's why you're so conflicted about Harry, or at least was. He'd become so much a part of your life that his leaving was like taking a part of yourself with him. A part that you had invested so much in. He meant a lot to you, and no one should get over something like that that easily. They would have to be heartless to."

Ginny gave a quiet laugh. Leave it to Elizabeth to turn something awful into something good. "I still feel stupid though. I shouldn't have run off like that in the middle of a dinner party. Mum's going to kill me."

"Oh, I don't think she'll mind. People hardly noticed. They were all stuffing their faces full of food."

Ginny nodded, taking Elizabeth's word for it. "Speaking of food, if I don't get something to eat, I'm afraid I'll pass out," Ginny said standing up.

"Beat you to it," Elizabeth piped back, throwing Ginny a roll of bread she'd been hiding behind her back. "I figured you would be hungry, so I grabbed two rolls before I left."

Ginny held the roll in her hand and stared at it, grateful for her friend. "I don't think I tell you enough how amazing you are."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Well if I wasn't, who would be?"

Laughing, Ginny shoved the roll into her mouth. "Mmmm. My mother may be crazy half the time, but she does know how to cook."

"I'll say. One day I might just permanently move into the Burrow so I can eat her food."

Ginny laughed. "That is one thing I do miss about living at home," she agreed.

"So," Elizabeth said, looking Ginny straight in the eyes. "Are you ready to go back?"

Ginny pursed her lips for a second. "I think so. I just wish my eyes didn't look like I've been crying for the last ten minutes straight."

Elizabeth perked up at the thought. "I have a spell for that!"

"I- uh... I think I'm okay. You know how fickle those spells can be. I would really hate to go blind. That would make the night really suck," Ginny said slowly backing away. "I can always put on a little more makeup or something."

"No, no , no. I read this one in a magazine and have been eager to try it. I just haven't found the right opportunity to use it until now. You'll just have to come a little closer."

"Really," Ginny said backing up more, "I'm not that desperate."

Elizabeth scoffed. "Oh, you wouldn't be saying that if you could see your face right now."

"You know, its amazing how one moment you can make me feel loads better, and then the next insult me."

Elizabeth grabbed Ginny's shoulder with a tight hand and pulled out her wand with the other. "It'll be really quick." And before Ginny could protest again, Elizabeth whispered, "_oculos non rufus_." An odd sensation overcame Ginny's eyes. At first her vision went completely white. It was a very terrifying moment before her sight came back entirely. "Oh you look wonderful. It's as if this never happened. Now we should go back quickly before all the foods gone." Grabbing her hand, Elizabeth yanked Ginny in the direction of the dinner tables. "We especially can't miss dessert. I will be really upset if we miss dessert."

In the few minutes it took to make it back to the burrow, Ginny took the time to reassess the situation once again. She was not ready to make peace with Harry yet. She had only now just come to realize she was over him, and it would take a while to get used to his presence. For now though she could at least act civil around him. If Harry really felt sorry for his actions and wanted redemption, he was going to have to prove it.

For the rest of the night, Ginny and Elizabeth sat at the end of the second table, listening to Uncle Arnold babble on about more war stories. Harry sat next to Ron and Hermione at the head of the first table, ignoring her. It was a relief for Ginny to ignore him in return. If they could meet each other with this mutual understanding - that they never had to cross paths or talk to one another- that would be good enough for her. At least that was a start.

**Finally, the long awaited chapter three. Sorry this took so long. I'm in grade twelve right now so school takes first priority! I can't guarantee specific updates because that is the nature of my schedule, but hopefully the next chapter will come quicker than this one.**

**Anyways, tensions are running high. And now that Ginny has accepted Harry's return, the fun can really begin!**

**Leave a review because that's what keeps us writers ticking!**


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